SOCAR, EU discuss increasing gas supplies to Europe

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi held a meeting with Azerbaijan's State Oil Company officials, Azernews reports.

During the meeting, they discussed the issue of bringing more gas from diverging sources to Europe.

"Productive discussion with ?@tap_pipeline and ?@SOCARofficial about bringing more gas from diverging sources to Europe and its neighborhood to increase the diversification of our gas supply routes," Varhelyi wrote on his official Twitter page.

The current geopolitical situation in the world has shown that Europe cannot be completely dependent on a single gas supplier. In this regard, it is no coincidence that Europe lists Azerbaijan among the countries from where it is potentially possible to increase supplies if needed. The prospects for expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor are assessed positively. Taking into account Azerbaijan’s proven gas potential, it is possible to say that the capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor will be increased and Azerbaijan will increase its gas exports to Europe.

To recall, with the completion of the TAP (Trans-Adriatic Pipeline) construction on December 31, 2020, Azerbaijan began commercial gas supplies to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor. The European Commission's Southern Gas Corridor initiative aims to build a natural gas supply route from the Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe. The route from Azerbaijan to Europe consists of the South Caucasus Pipeline, the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), and TAP.

Last year, TAP transported 8.1 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe. By late 2022, Azerbaijan plans to increase gas supplies to Europe to 9.1 billion cubic meters, and in 2023, the volume of gas supplies is expected to reach 11 billion cubic meters.